Guilty times
by Captain Juliet
Summary: Minerva said that she had forgiven herself for kidnapping No1 as it would cause health problems. But has she forgiven herself for causing Artemis' death? Two years on, when Artemis was given up for dead, this young genius suffers from depression and makes a desperate attempt to undo what she has done. Will she succeed, or just makes things worse-in the present and the past?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there. Welcome to my story inspired by MIB3. I did it after I watched the movie, scrapped it and now typed it out. As all my loyal fans (whom I love really much) who either put me as a favorite** **or on alert or both, this is the story I was talking about. This is typed after I got my results for my chemistry and mother tongue papers so I'm feeling emo and sad so here I am feeling sorry for myself while you guys enjoy the story. Don't expect fast updates- tomorrow I'll be getting back my biology and geography papers so if you need me I'll probably be in a corner...hugging my history paper...which is the only subject I got A1 for...my source of comfort :)**

Disclaimer: I ask you, if I was Eoin Colfer, would I be crying over my grades in a pathetic corner over there?  
  
Chapter 1  
It has been exactly two years since Artemis Fowl had literally disappeared from Minerva Paradizo's life. Minerva was in her room, too depressed to do anything. She stared at her tea, which had pictures of what had happened two years ago. It may be her imagination, though.

Suddenly someone tapped her shoulder. Minerva turned around and her eyes widened. "Greetings, Minerva," Artemis said, as pale as ever.

"Artemis! It-it's you!" Minerva said, too stunned to say anything else. "W-where did you go?"

"Hybras. Limbo. And guess what? It's all your fault," said Artemis, his face eerily expressionless.

Minerva stood up and backed away. "I was young and foolish then. Blinded by pride. You have to hear me out." Her back knocked against the door, which she did not remember closing. "I never wanted to put you in any sort of danger. I was racked with guilt about that."

"You should," Artemis sneered.

"But-but you're back," Minerva stuttered. "I was beginning to wonder when you were ever coming back."

"I nearly didn't. And yes, I am back, and I brought back a little present for you," he said and pulled out a sword from behind him. "Abbot's sword," Minerva gasped.

"You know it's his?" Artemis said, his features twisted into an ugly sneer as he patted it.

"You could never lift something like that, let alone use it," Minerva blurted, trembling.

Artemis checked the blade. "Maybe, maybe not. I'll tell you something, Minerva," he said, his cool eyes resting on Minerva's terrified figure. "I have changed. Stronger than you think." He raised the weapon. "And I have come back for you..."

His hand drops...

Minerva sat bolt upright and screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

She was drenched in sweat and was panting. It was three in the morning, two years since that day. _These Artemis-has-come-back-to-_kill-_me dreams are getting more and more frequent, _she thought as she took a shaky gulp of water. She managed two mouthfuls before the door opened and Gaspard Paradizo came in. "Chérie! Are you okay?" he asked, switching the lights on.

Minerva shielded her eyes from the light. "Chérie! You are soaking wet!" Gaspard said and sat next to his daughter, patting her back.

"I am fine now, papa," she sighed.

"One of your Artemis Fowl nightmares again?"

Minerva nodded and shivered. "Life goes on, Minerva. It's been two years." Minerva nodded again.

"You must try to forgive and forget it. Like you had said, it's not healthy brooding in the past," Gaspard said, patting her back. Minerva smiled weakly and climbed back under her sheets.

As Gaspard switched the lights off, she whispered, "I know, papa, i know. I've been trying. It just doesn't go away."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there. This is the second chapter which is relatively short but I promise the next chapter will be better. But that can't really be trusted because I have been known to break promises. Anyway next chapter will be starring one Paradizo and one Fowl. It's not Artemis, but there's more than one Fowl in the family, right? I should stop giving spoilers. I will try to update the next chapter as soon as I finish my projects and not to mention start studying for my End Of Year, which I promise to myself I will get really good grades for my science...**

**Just a little something. I did get back my bio paper, sobbed over it, then vented my anger in the form of arguing with my teacher and celebrated after I got an extra half mark. Yes I am that desperate. Now the disclaimer: I'm pretty sure my desperate state of mind cannot be compared to that of the brilliant Eoin Colfer's.**

****Chapter 2  
Minerva just could not sleep after that. She picked up the phone.

"Butler speaking."

"Butler, it's me, Minerva."

"Hello there Minerva. I'm sorry but Artemis is still not back yet."

Minerva's grip on the phone slackened. "Oh," she said. "There's no need to feel sorry, old friend."

"It's three in the morning. How come you're still not asleep yet?" he asked, trying not to yawn.

"I'm sorry for calling you at a time like this but..."

"Let me guess. Artemis is haunting you."

Minerva nodded. "The last dream I just had he came back to kill me with Abbot's sword," she said. "I couldn't sleep after that."

"I understand you," Butler said.

"But it's not just Artemis," Minerva spoke up. Butler stayed silent, urging her to speak. "Holly and No1 too."

"No1?" Butler said, rather amused but managed to replace that with disbelief.

Minerva's eyes widened. "I know. He was chasing me off the cliff and zapped me to the moon and he conjured this gigantic boulder to flatten me," she said and turned away from the speaker. She sobbed into her fist, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Butler sighed. _Poor girl, _he thought, _racked with guilt until she's dreaming about No1 murdering her on the moon. And I should be the one at fault. _"Actually, Minerva,"he said and that heavy, sinking feeling came back. "I think it's mostly my fault."

"No!" Minerva exclaimed. "No. It was me. You did what had to be done. It was me."

Butler sighed again as he listened to another round of sobs. He knew how Minerva felt. Guilt. he got over it for a while but it seems to just haunt Minerva. And she was the one who said harboring negative feelings impact mental health. She was so guilty she was pretty depressed about it. "Listen, Minerva. What's done is done. You cannot go back in time. Okay, so maybe Artemis did go back in time, but that's not the point. I mean that you did what you thought was appropriate at the time, and the consequences that followed could not be changed. There are other factors to that, and it's not entirely your fault," he said in a stern but comforting way.

Minerva sniffed. "Thank you, butler," she said in between sobs.

"I will let you know if Artemis is back," he said.

"Thank you Butler," she said again. "Thank you."

She put the phone down and blew her nose. _Artemis is lucky to have a man like Butler, _she thought as another tear trickled down. _Oh, Artemis._

Five hours later  
Minerva sat at the table, where breakfast was waiting. "Feeling better, Minerva?" Gaspard asked. Minerva forced a smile and nodded. She stared at her plate, fiddling with her food.

"Minerva's been crying. Her eyes are red and puffy," Beau, Minerva's little brother, said. "Crying over her boyfriend."

Minerva directed her eyes on her food as Gaspard looked at her. "Beau's right. are you really feeling better?"

Minerva stood up. "You're right," she said. "I'm not feeling better. There's no point in trying to tell me to forget all about it because I won't." She turned to Beau. "And he's not my boyfriend!" she yelled and returned to her room.

Minerva was face down in her pillow, crying soft sobs. She willed herself to stop and remembered what Butler had said.

"What's done is done. You cannot go back in time. You did what you thought was appropriate at the time, and the consequences that followed could not be changed."

But couldn't she go back into the past? There was a time tunnel, there was. Artemis disappeared into one. The question is, can she find a way to get into it without the help of demons? She did not have the files. But she knew someone who did.

She picked up the phone again. "Butler? Yes, it's me again. No, I'm fine. Tell me, am I welcomed at Fowl Manor?"


	3. Chapter 3

**I broke my promise. This one's short as well. But you got what you wanted. Me, I want more reviews. But we don't always get what we want, especially when my brother (my infamous brother) and I were sharing a pizza. He ate into my share. Okay, enough whining.**

**I've finished this story until Minerva goes back into the past... and I've got a writer's block. I'm stuck at where she confronts her younger self...something like the Time Paradox just that it's Kong instead of Butler...so the bottom line is, I need ideas. PM me, review, I don't mind. Or just wish for that ray of inspiration to hit me and I shall get my own idea and continue the story. Which will either take a long while or even never. So all I need now is for my brother to stop bugging me so I can study for my End of Year and you guys to tell me what you think of this.**

**The disclaimer before you proceed: (Make up your own disclaimer here which means the same as Captain Juliet here doesn't own Artemis Fowl. Hey, it works for me.)**

Chapter 3

After Minerva apologized for her behavior at breakfast, she suggested that maybe a trip to Fowl Manor would help her and he agreed. Later, she stood at the gates of Fowl Manor, really unsure of what she would encounter. She took a deep breath and went in.

Angeline answered the door. "Yes, may I help you?"

Minerva cast her gaze downwards. "Mrs Fowl. I am Minerva Paradizo and I helped Artemis before he went into the time tunnel." Helped? She was the one who caused all this! But a bit of lying was necessary if she wanted to be admitted. This was Artemis' mother, for heaven's sake! She probably wouldn't be allowed in if she had said the truth about how she had indirectly killed Artemis. She raised her head. "I believe Artemis keeps his files in his laptop and I am here to see if, using this information, I may bring him back." She was disappointed at how the sentence sounded and besides, she wasn't sure what she would do when she got to the past.

"Ah yes, Minerva. Butler called and told me about you. The first girl Artemis has ever had a conversation with. He also did have a crush on you, apparently."

_Oh, Artemis, _Minerva thought. "Come in," Angeline said and ushered her in. _Oh, Artemis._

"Can I get you anything?" she asked as Minerva set foot in Artemis' study.

"A cup of tea would be nice," Minerva answered and forced a smile. She set her suitcase on the table and sighed as Angeline closed the door.

Minerva touched the laptop and looked around at the various commuters in the room. _Do it, girl, do it, _she urged herself. She opened the laptop and typed the password which Butler had told her. He wasn't sure himself, but it did the trick. _Aurum potestas est._

She did not know that Angeline was in the room until she heard the saucer being set on the table. "You managed to crack his password," Angeline said, amazed.

For once Minerva smiled genuinely. "I am a genius, Mrs Fowl. Artemis and I were genii. Great minds think alike. We both have trade secrets."_ Just that he probably has more than me. Better ones, too._

"No wonder Artemis hasn't scarred you yet," Angeline said. "He petrifies girls everywhere in his Armani suit and superior vocabulary."

"Actually, Mrs Fowl, he looks good in a suit and I find his vocabulary alright. At least we can understand each other," Minerva said. They both laughed.

"Please, call me Angeline. Butler said you were very depressed about his disappearance."

Minerva wanted to protest against it but thought better of it. Besides, Angeline looked kind enough. "I believe it's what people call guilt-ridden."

Angeline nodded and placed a hand on Minerva's shoulder. "There was a time when I kept living in the past. I know how it feels like, Minerva. I know it's hard, but eventually you'll have to face the truth that he is gone. I lost my husband once and now Artemis... I can never remember the stages of grief, but acceptance is one of them, that is for sure." She turned away from Minerva for a while. Minerva looked up.

"Thank you Angeline," Minerva sighed. Angeline patted her back and said, "It takes time and determination." As she turned to leave, she called, "Call me if you need anything else. I'll be with the twins."

_I love these people, _Minerva thought and sipped her tea.

Half an hour later, Minerva had all the relevant documents sent to her email, but since Angeline insisted she stay a while longer she might as well start planning.

It was magic, a form of energy that pulled the demons through time. The force of the moon. Using this concept, Minerva planned out a time machine which would help generate the necessary energy to bring her to the past. Angeline had refilled her cup twice and laid a plate of cakes and cookies on the table next to her.

"I'm not hungry," Minerva said, "but thank you anyway."

Angeline frowned. "You haven't eaten anything since you came, and you're working so hard. Surely you need a snack?"

Minerva shook her head. "I've already had two cups of tea."

"Tea is one thing. Cookies are another. At least take the ginger snaps. They go well with the tea," Angeline said and left.

One hour later Angeline came back to check on Minerva, who had demolished the snacks. "It really does go with tea," Minerva said and smiled. "Thank you."

"You need more?" Angeline asked and took the cup and plate.

Minerva shook her head and smiled politely. "I'm good. Thank you so much, Angeline. For the tea, snacks... everything, actually," she said and picked up her suitcase. "I'll take my leave now."

"Shall I see you out?"

"No need, I'll be fine."

"Goodbye, Minerva."

"Goodbye Angeline. Thanks a lot for everything." She waved, at the same time taking out her mobile phone to call her father. And with that and one last look at the study and Angeline, she left.

**Thanks guys for the reviews! Next update will take a while because I've just started school again, back from the September holidays, and I am bogged down with projects and side projects and revision and all that. Now I'm just going to reply to some reviews because I feel I should voice over my reply. You may skip this part and proceed with reviewing. Hee.**

To jupiter123: I'm not sure if it will be interesting as I have a serious writer's block and so I need you people to tell me what you want. It's still about one or two chapters away so you guys have a bit of time. So the question is, what _**stuff **_**do you want our dear Minerva to encounter? PM or review me. The faster those ideas come the faster the later chapters will come.**

To WriteImagineDreamEML: Thanks for the review! I'll try my best to keep Minerva in character, especially when I'm not quite her age yet (she's fourteen in this story), and I'm pretty immature myself (and so is all my friends). Hee. But anyway, YES I TOTALLY AGREE that Minerva should actually be in another story. You know before the Last Guardian came out everyone was like, Team Holly and Team Minerva and stuff like that (TEAM MINERVA. Holly is over eighty for Frond's sake!). And in the end Minerva totally disappeared. My friend says the author did what he did to just say that he was finished with the series. I'm rambling again but I'm feeling really emo now because my brother stole more food from me.

So, until next time, folks!


End file.
